Trial puts Newtown feud in spotlight

Published: Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 10:40 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 10:40 p.m.

SARASOTA - The murder trial of Marcus "Donk" Moody, which starts Monday, will give a rare glimpse into a street feud that left two people dead and five others wounded by gunshots last year.

The feud pitted a group of young men who grew up in the Newtown Estates subdivision against another group from west of the railroad tracks that divide Newtown.

Casualties from their struggle contributed to a total of eight murders last year in Newtown, about double the city's average, a scourge that city leaders are still struggling to understand — and stop.

Problems with gun violence in Newtown received international exposure last month during the trial of 17-year-old Shawn Tyson, convicted of murdering two British tourists whom he'd tried to rob.

Moody, 19, allied with the Newtown Estates group, is charged with killing a rival in the middle of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way last June, early on a Monday morning as the feud was escalating.

About 1 a.m., friends of Moody's were riding in a car that was fired upon as it left Newtown, heading north on U.S. 301.

An hour later, people who had been riding in the car returned to the neighborhood with guns and friends, including Moody, witnesses say. They were planning swift retaliation, according to court documents.

They parked their cars just off MLK Way, near two bars that were emptying out about 2 a.m.

Witnesses say that Moody, a cigarette in one hand and a pistol in another, was one of several young men who confronted Willie J. "Pooh" Hadley, 20 — allegedly a central figure in previous clashes between the two groups.

Hadley was laughing at the younger man, according to witnesses, some of whom told police Hadley was holding a pistol, too. Others say he was unarmed.

"What do you want to do? We can end this right now," Hadley is reported to have said.

Hadley was shot twice — once in the abdomen and once in the heart, the bullet piercing his chest at the base of the "A" in the "YOUNG SAVAGE" tattoo on his chest.

Prosecutors can link Moody to a .38-caliber pistol that was recovered two days later from a shot-up car by Manatee County deputies.

Ballistic tests were inconclusive, but the pistol is the same caliber as the bullets that killed Hadley.

Moody's defense attorney, Richard Watts of St. Petersburg, did not return a phone call for comment.

Police say that four months after Hadley was killed, his brother, Olajuwon Butler, 17 at the time, shot and killed one of Moody's cousins.

A key witness in the case against Moody will likely be Kristen Walding, 22, a former friend who loaned money to Moody and gave him and his buddies rides in her Ford Edge SUV.

It was Walding's car that was shot at early June 13, an hour before Hadley was killed.

She says Moody and his friends planned their retaliation in a series of cellphone calls, and that Moody was holding a gun as they prepared to head back to Sarasota.

"Someone's gonna get it tonight," Moody said, according to Walden.

She says she drove Moody to Newtown and heard gunshots minutes after he got out of her SUV.

When Moody climbed back into her car, he told her, "Go go go," she later told police. As they sped away, Moody was fiddling with his pistol and laughing, Walding said.

"He's in the back seat, he's chewing gum," she said, according to a transcript of her interview with police. "And he, he just started laughing, and he said, 'Donkey bad ass.'"

Several days later, Walding says that Moody re-enacted Hadley's death as a joke in front of his friends. He twitched and fell down and everyone laughed, Walding said.

"He even had a gun in his hand," she told detectives. "He put it in the air like he was pointing it at somebody and pretend he was shooting the person and went, 'Pow pow pow' and then he acted out how Pooh fell to the ground."

Messages posted on Moody's Facebook page could also be used against him in court.

Two hours after Hadley was killed, a post was made from Moody's account: "DEY GO GET IT WEN I'M READY!!!! MURDER DONKEY STAY UP."

If convicted of second-degree murder, Moody will face up to life in prison.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - The murder trial of Marcus "Donk" Moody, which starts Monday, will give a rare glimpse into a street feud that left two people dead and five others wounded by gunshots last year.</p><p>The feud pitted a group of young men who grew up in the Newtown Estates subdivision against another group from west of the railroad tracks that divide Newtown.</p><p>Casualties from their struggle contributed to a total of eight murders last year in Newtown, about double the city's average, a scourge that city leaders are still struggling to understand — and stop.</p><p>Problems with gun violence in Newtown received international exposure last month during the trial of 17-year-old Shawn Tyson, convicted of murdering two British tourists whom he'd tried to rob.</p><p>Moody, 19, allied with the Newtown Estates group, is charged with killing a rival in the middle of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way last June, early on a Monday morning as the feud was escalating.</p><p>About 1 a.m., friends of Moody's were riding in a car that was fired upon as it left Newtown, heading north on U.S. 301.</p><p>An hour later, people who had been riding in the car returned to the neighborhood with guns and friends, including Moody, witnesses say. They were planning swift retaliation, according to court documents.</p><p>They parked their cars just off MLK Way, near two bars that were emptying out about 2 a.m.</p><p>Witnesses say that Moody, a cigarette in one hand and a pistol in another, was one of several young men who confronted Willie J. "Pooh" Hadley, 20 — allegedly a central figure in previous clashes between the two groups.</p><p>Hadley was laughing at the younger man, according to witnesses, some of whom told police Hadley was holding a pistol, too. Others say he was unarmed.</p><p>"What do you want to do? We can end this right now," Hadley is reported to have said.</p><p>Hadley was shot twice — once in the abdomen and once in the heart, the bullet piercing his chest at the base of the "A" in the "YOUNG SAVAGE" tattoo on his chest.</p><p>Prosecutors can link Moody to a .38-caliber pistol that was recovered two days later from a shot-up car by Manatee County deputies.</p><p>Ballistic tests were inconclusive, but the pistol is the same caliber as the bullets that killed Hadley.</p><p>Moody's defense attorney, Richard Watts of St. Petersburg, did not return a phone call for comment.</p><p>Police say that four months after Hadley was killed, his brother, Olajuwon Butler, 17 at the time, shot and killed one of Moody's cousins.</p><p>A key witness in the case against Moody will likely be Kristen Walding, 22, a former friend who loaned money to Moody and gave him and his buddies rides in her Ford Edge SUV.</p><p>It was Walding's car that was shot at early June 13, an hour before Hadley was killed.</p><p>She says Moody and his friends planned their retaliation in a series of cellphone calls, and that Moody was holding a gun as they prepared to head back to Sarasota.</p><p>"Someone's gonna get it tonight," Moody said, according to Walden.</p><p>She says she drove Moody to Newtown and heard gunshots minutes after he got out of her SUV.</p><p>When Moody climbed back into her car, he told her, "Go go go," she later told police. As they sped away, Moody was fiddling with his pistol and laughing, Walding said.</p><p>"He's in the back seat, he's chewing gum," she said, according to a transcript of her interview with police. "And he, he just started laughing, and he said, 'Donkey bad ass.'"</p><p>Several days later, Walding says that Moody re-enacted Hadley's death as a joke in front of his friends. He twitched and fell down and everyone laughed, Walding said.</p><p>"He even had a gun in his hand," she told detectives. "He put it in the air like he was pointing it at somebody and pretend he was shooting the person and went, 'Pow pow pow' and then he acted out how Pooh fell to the ground."</p><p>Messages posted on Moody's Facebook page could also be used against him in court.</p><p>Two hours after Hadley was killed, a post was made from Moody's account: "DEY GO GET IT WEN I'M READY!!!! MURDER DONKEY STAY UP."</p><p>If convicted of second-degree murder, Moody will face up to life in prison.</p>